Here are today's headlines:

Treehouse branching out with aid of $2M in rescue funds

EASTHAMPTON - A $2 million infusion from the state's American Rescue Plan Act will help city-based nonprofit Treehouse Foundation replicate its intergenerational community model in the eastern part of the state.Treehouse Founder and CEO Judy Cockerton offered up gratitude to a handful of state and...

Amherst Town Council nixes solar project moratorium

AMHERST - Large-scale, ground-mounted solar projects will be allowed to proceed under current zoning rules after the Town Council shot down a temporary moratorium on their installation.Councilors voted 8-5 Monday in favor of the moratorium, falling one vote shy of the necessary two-thirds majority...

Petition calls on UMass to make campus safer after student killed

AMHERST - An online petition is calling on the University of Massachusetts to make the campus safer for pedestrians following last week's crash that killed a student while she was crossing Massachusetts Avenue.The change.org petition, titled "Make UMass Amherst protect pedestrians" and created by so...

Parts of Jones Library's Kinsey Memorial Garden moving to Kestrel HQ

AMHERST - A garden installed outside the Jones Library in 1999 that pays tribute to a late University of Massachusetts international education professor, is likely to have many of its plants and other elements relocated to a South Amherst site in 2023.With the project to expand and renovate the buil...

Basketball state tournament: Northampton sweeps doubleheader

NORTHAMPTON – All season, the Northampton boys basketball team was able to rely on its effort. The results weren't always there, nor was the offense, but the Blue Devils continually played hard.That ethos carried through to the Division 2 state tournament. No. 25 Northampton beat No. 40 Nashoba 65-5...

Guest columnist Alan Lipp: It's a dog eat dog world

I'd like to think that my way of being in the world is based on careful, well thought out principles of how to have a happy, productive life. I'd like to think that, but I suspect that my mountain of morals is resting on a foundation of aphorisms, jokes and parental cautions.Take my dad, for example...

EarthTalk: Sustainable furniture options

Dear EarthTalk: I'm looking to furnish my new apartment and wondering if you could point me toward some sustainable options? – B.C., New York, NY In the U.S., sustainable living has gained momentum in recent years as more and more Americans make conscious efforts to reduce their carbon footprint....

Boys basketball: Smith Academy survives Westfield Tech after 'nerve-wracking' 4th quarter

HATFIELD - For nearly the entirety of the game, No. 28 Smith Academy led No. 37 Westfield Tech in their first round matchup of the MIAA Division 5 boys basketball tournament. There were some ebbs and flows, but the Falcons always managed to stay in front of the Tigers. With just seven minutes left...